Indiana Suika and The Temple Best Left Forgotten [Req. Suika]

[Funai Ikko]

And thus ended their...honestly pretty non-descript journey. Ikko had been afforded a certain amount of trust when it came to roaming outside the village in the land of lightning, primarily because getting him out of the village lowered the amount of safety hazards by about sixty percent but also because the boy would be trusted to return, for better or worse. However, what was really shocking and, dare he say, concerning was just how easy it had been to get to the cave. It was not especially close to the village, but at no point had they run into much of anything at all. There were no bear attacks, not brigands, not even a meandering contract beast who was fond of delicious children...nothing. That was ridiculously out of the ordinary and as they moved, the suspicions Ikko had been suppressing so admirably since the pair of them set off on this trip were steadily raising their ugly heads again. Instead of conversing about these imminent doubts and concerns as they traversed across a rather windy, Ikko went with a different tactic, making himself look like a moron.

"So...so um...Suika, they're taking all the genin and students to Tea Country for some tournament. Chance for inter-village relations and whatever but I hear there's some really, um, romantic places we could go according to the brochures. There's these tea shops and these tea cafes and tea stores and...well the country has its priorities I guess but they're supposed to be really ni..."

A strong gust of wind had completely buffetted away the sound from what was saying after that so the Suika in front of him wouldn't have really been able to hear him, much less any Suikas lurking in the background. However, as the frigid mountain air crashed into them, Ikko finally noticed something even more suspicious. Ikko had never really been cold in his whole life. It wasn't exactly because he hadn't been to cold places or, at least, places other people said were cold. He had slept on the street without so much as a blanket for the entirety of his childhood and while he understood the concept of "cold" in theory based on the shivering and general discomfort and whining of the other children, but it was never a phenomenon he experienced himself. As he grew older and he learned of what he was, genetically, capable of, things began to fall into place and make sense. His Haku abilities gave him a near entire resistance to an entire end of a temperature spectrum. However, because he himself wasn't cold, it was not until just then that he realized that Suika would not be blessed with the same resistances. Yet Suika barely shivered across their entire journey up here and when she did, it seemed to be exclusively when she caught him looking at her and, since Ikko spent most of their journey looking at her, she seemed to get bored with needing to shiver. Normally, Ikko would just think she was impressive, but the issues earlier were still nagging at him.

It would seem however that they were nearing the end of their journey and boy...was it more than Ikko was expecting. Before the pair of them, seemingly hollowed out into the very mountain itself, was a towering circular entrance into what was, at first glance, a completely pitch black and hollow world. Ikko's eyes widened and his mouth dropped. This was beyond his comprehension, this was beyond possible.

"I don't...I don't under..."

Ikko, realizing himself, finally wrenched his hand fee of Suika's. They had seen a variety of emotions on Ikko's face since he had arrived in Kumogakure that varied from the boy's typical happy, energetic, and mischievous expression. They'd seen him angry at Kiri, agitated with Arata, infatuated and awkward with Suika and Shiro...but no one had ever seen Ikko scared before. The sensation seemed to creep up and down his entire body as, wide eyed and trembling, Ikko glared back and forth from Suika to the cave, back to Suika, then back to the cave, before fixating back on the Suika before him, his voice trembling with a mixture of rage and absolute dread.

"What is this...how...the air from the cave...it's cold...I'm cold...HOW AM I COLD!?"

[WC: 709]

 

[Suika]

“It's... so... cold...” muttered the shivering girl under her breath. Meanwhile, her sidekick, Blackberry, pawed at his own whiskers. He didn't seem affected by the dramatic decrease in temperature as they trailed the duo up the mountains. Luckily, Suika was wearing her signature pink jacket over her kunoichi gear, but that still wasn't enough to keep her at a comfortable warmth. Regardless, she chose to continue her pursuit. Ikko, the cheery boy from her class, was in the company of some type of shapeshifting demon. Where was it taking him? The mystical gypsy was unsure, but she sensed a dark heaviness. This only increased the more they made their way up.

As they came to a halt, Suika peered through the snow-covered branches and leaves that she used for cover. She noticed her doppleganger and the Haku in front of a cave that reeked with malevolent energy. It appeared as some void; it released a supernatural frigidity that intensified the area's arctic conditions. Ikko was in great danger. “Blackberry, Operation Shadows.” Her familiar purred, hopped off her, and disappeared into the trees. Her ninja training for her cat was paying off. With a few formed seals, she sent three Shadow Spectres of herself to surround the area in stealth. They would come to her aid later if matters intensified. She then formulated her attack. Drawing three kunai, she threw them expertly at the fake Suika. Forming more seals, she used her affinity in kinesis to add extra oomph to them. They shot off like mini torpedos.

The doppelganger, out of no where, ducked and dodged the metal as its sheer force pierced through nearby stone. “Crap. It knows I'm here.” The real Suika lunged from the trees and acrobatically made her way twenty feet in front of the pair. She shouted out angrily as her magenta eyes glowed furiously with some noticeable spiritual energy. “Get away from her, Ikko!” Suika held out her arm as an ethereal blade manifested itself dramatically. She continued. “That demon is trying to deceive you and lead you to a trap. Don't go inside that cave.” In response, the other Suika gritted her teeth as a look of worry filled her eyes. She turned toward Ikko. “Ikko-san, don't listen to her. I sensed a dark presence here, too. Whatever is in this cave, it's trying to play tricks on us.”

“The only one playing tricks here is you, demon! Reveal yourself and stop hiding under that...” Suika hesitated for a moment with a small blush. “Well, stop pretending to be me. It's pissing me off!” Her demonic doppelganger drew a kunai and attempted to brush Ikko aside. “Don't worry, Ikko-san. Handle whatever is in that cave – I'll take care of whoever this look-a-like is.”</B><i></i>

At this point, the gypsy was irritated beyond hell. It was time to initiate Operation Shadows. She whistled. With that, three clones of her surrounded the demon at three different vantage points. While the demon was distracted, Blackberry pounced from above the cave's mouth and clawed at the demon's face. It shrieked. <B>“Get off me ya fuckin' rat!” The demon swung at Blackberry, but he was able to swiftly evade her attack and land on his feet. He dashed toward the real Suika. As the shapeshifter shook her face, she shifted her face upward and revealed a gruesome sight. From its pierced flesh visibly radiated dark, eerie particles. Beyond that, the 'girl' looked as if she was comprised of hollowed darkness. She then let out a piercing screech. “You'll pay for that!!!” Her voice began to morph into a more masculine, dual-toned one. “Ikko... idiotic boy... get in the cave!” She then faced the real Suika and growled like a rabid animal. “As for you, meddlesome mystic, I'm done wearing your face. You weren't supposed to be here... I tried to make sure of that. No matter, you'll die here. You and your mangy furball!” It lunged out at Suika as it morphed into some terrifying, masked shadow beast. Unaffected by its disturbing transformation, the girl positioned her blade and readied a stance.

Meanwhile, the atmosphere became a lot more dense as the bushes around them twitched with movement. It was about to get even more crazy.

 

[Funai Ikko]

So...things got a smidge confusing just a bit too quickly for Ikko's tastes, but things flew by in a flash. Despite how stunned, shocked, angry, whatever word the fit best, he was at the strange sensation that was "being cold" Ikko's senses were absolutely in overdrive. As soon as the doppleganger so much as flinched, Ikko had vaulted himself back ten paces, putting distance between himself and her...or it...or whatever it would prove to be. He wasn't sure what he was hurrying to avoid, but he knew it was something, and as the torpedo'd kunai careened on past both of them. Ikko, sliding slight in the snow, whirled toward the spot that the kunai had come from and saw...wait what the hell?

Ikko's jaw nearly dropped as he saw, considerably more reasonably dressed, Suika. His eyes whirled back to...Suika...then back to Suika, and then back to the one had had traveled with who shall henceforth be known as "Suika" as he tried to process what in the world was happening. The two of them began arguing about which one of them was the real Suika. Ikko was leaning toward assuming the newest one was more likely the Suika he knew given the fact that she looked so cold her feet were about to fall off and she sounded irritated instead of flattering which...in hindsight...was considerably more "Suika-esque", but they were both, he thought, telling him to go into that cave and Ikko was very sure that "go into the cave" was the last thing anyone in their right mind would want to do. However, before Ikko really had a chance to pass any judgement on which Suika he especially trusted, it decision was, more or less, taken clean out of his hands. A pack of Suika but not Suikas seemed to shoot out of the surrounding snow doused foliage and drew "Suika's" attention just in time for what...looked like a cat to come leaping out of nowhere and clawed the crap out of "Suika's" face.

Ikko nearly threw up. He had asked...that thing to go get romantic tea with him. That thought alone caused a small wretch from Ikko, but the boy did not do much if not recover quickly, because immediately afterward that mental picture also sounded hilarious, they could torment the entire tea country just by making people watch that thing try to drink tea. However, any sense of humor he held was rather quickly placed with anger. He had been lied to, manipulated, and he still had no idea what the point was and they had even dragged Suika into it now too. Something was going to die. Almost as if on queue the bushes around them rustled and from them emerged four very ghoulish creatures emerged. They looked like snow tinged giant dogs, with fur covering the entirety of their bodies and elongated black snouts and pointed ears, but unlike dogs these things were bipedal, possessing strange but rather intimidatingly muscled humanoid and canine hybridized legs. There was nothing silly about their claws however, each "finger" extending in to a foot long, wickedly sharp looking protrusion. Ikko watched as these creatures emerged, turning their attention to and from Ikko and Suika, seemingly deciding on which to try and eat first.

"Fine...we won't get tea."

The creatures seemed to make a decision as soon as Ikko did, deciding it was better to aid the strange amorphous black monster in eliminating Suika first, however they were not going to get a chance. Ikko, moving first, vaulted toward the two women...one woman one monster maybe, whichever, squaring off as Ikko's hands were raised high above his head before slamming his hands down into the snow. Harsh barks and howls coursed through the air as the creature's darted for Suika and followed by harsh whimpers as they ran in to nothing but solid ice. From where Ikko had slammed his hands down, a massive wall of ice was shooting up from the ground, completely blocking the path and shooting thirty feet up into the air, separating Suika and her canine would be assailants and, also, cutting Suika and her friend(s) off from Ikko's said of the pass. The creatures howled and struck the barrier, growling in rage as they soon realized it was futile, they weren't getting through Ikko's wall. Eight eyes shifted upward to glare at the blue haired boy as he crouched against the surface of the wall, sticking to it with his chakra and adorned with the most shit-eating grin imaginable. If they wanted Suika, they were going up and over his wall and through him.

The quickest dog man on the uptake quickly raced up the wall, his claws scrabbling and scraping along the ice but he did not seem to have any trouble climbing the surface. A soft click of irritation came from Ikko has he ran down the side of the wall to meet the first monster. They were fast, faster than Ikko had expected. The monster seemed to fade from sight for a moment before reappearing in front of Ikko, raking his vicious claws down at him. Ikko was in his element though and he, most importantly, was pissed right the hell off. The creature was fast, but it didn't seem especially equipped for this kind of fight and as soon as the monster leaped at him, Ikko ducked forward, keeping himself oriented against the wall, and moved under the creature's slash and kicking out with his leg, catching he furry hind quarter and kicking loose its grip on the wall. The creature yelped in surprise as its head went forward, smacking off the ice wall as gravity took up its job. The monster fell twenty feet to the hard ground below, it didn't keep moving. The others weren't just watching as Ikko and his partner danced. A pair of the creatures blew past Ikko, heading for the top of the wall. The boy cursed before forming a seal with the hand he wasn't gripping onto the wall with as he reconnected with his feet as water began to coalesce around his palm. With a grunt of exertion, as the whip finished forming Ikko swung his arm upward and the tendril of water shot forward and looped around the creature's ankle, catching it. With a heave, Ikko twisted on his back foot and pulled, whipping the captured monster around and slamming it into the other one who had gotten past him, knocking them both from the wall.

Then, red. A searing pain shot through Ikko's back as he felt the claws rake through his skin. A cry of pain as he fell forward, barely keeping himself against the wall. He pushed off, jumping a few feet up the wall as the second claw came down, scraping and chiseling ice away. Ikko, raspy, watched the creature snarl up at him before charging once more, crashing up the icy wall toward him. Ikko rolled, sliding away and eliciting another rasp of pain as his injured back passed over the ice as those razor sharp claws skewered the spot he was just in. Springing to his feet just in time to dart out of the way of the creatures continued assault, Ikko continued to run up and down the length of the wall, keeping clear of those claws...waiting...waiting...and there it was. He was waiting for the overreach. Ikko had been forced almost to the top of the wall and just when the creature saw victory, it overextended to take it. Ikko ducked under the incoming, meant to be the killshot claw as chakra began to swirl in his palm, tightening into a small ball. With a deft thrust, Ikko rammed his palm into the creature and the chakra tore through its fur and skin, ripping it away before blowing the creature off the wall, shooting it back down to the ground and its less than fortunate end, joining the crumpled heaps of its fellows.

However, not long after the monster had been sent to the ground, the entire mountain side seemed to shake as hundreds of pairs of feet chorused through the entrance. Ikko stared down, in disbelief, as ugly canine face after ugly canine face poured out of the cave, all turning their beady brown eyes up at Ikko, slowly taking up the entire cliff path and then some. They weren't as impressive as the four Ikko had just dealt with, but hundreds of anything with claws like that was terrifying. The boy gulped and quickly formed another seal. He wasn't sure if this was going to work, but he didn't really have any other options. As the seal formed, a perfect replica of the Haku erected itself from the ice wall, melding into reality and staring down at the horde of monster. Ikko, behind his clone, nodded, closed his eyes, and began weaving a complicated array of seals as Ikko's ice clone tore down the side of the wall toward the monsters, forming seals of its own. As Ikko's clone sprinted down the wall, water condensed and then froze in its hand to form a long spear of ice. As this formed however, the horde moved. Countless claws scrabbled and scraped as the horde raced up the wall, obscuring it from view with sheer numbers as they crashed into the clone. Ikko's frozen replica fought valiantly, cleaving through demon after demon and dropping them from the wall splattering with blood as the spear crashed into a head, punched through a neck and then swept through a group of legs as claws and limbs flew everywhere. It couldn't last forever however. The clone took down maybe twenty of the creatures before it was overrun, trampled under foot and claw as the torrent of monsters passed over it, running straight for Ikko. They were too late however, the clone bought the time Ikko needed. The last seal clicked into place and Ikko's eyes snapped open, and as they did frozen hell rained down upon the horde.

Seemingly out of nowhere, a massive avalanche formed at Ikko's feet and without warning raced down the side of the wall. Each monster was unceremoniously swept from the wall, caught up in the torrent of snow and ice as it raced down the wall, swallowing up everything in its way as Ikko rode down a top of it, as if he were riding a wave of water. A deafening crash rang through the entire mountain range to be heard miles off as countless monsters were swept up in the avalanche. As the snow crashed back into the ground, it ran out of places to go and coursed over the side, sweeping the monsters off the mountain and falling to their deaths amidst a mass of snow as the avalanche continued to sweep them all off. Ikko landed softly on the ground as the last wave of snow fell off into the valley, leaving but one beleaguered creature clinging to the cliff side. Ikko, hate in his eyes, walked up to the monster and with a sickening crunch, slammed his foot down on the monster's face, kicking it from the mountain and into the thousands of foot drop to its friends below as Ikko let his eyes linger on its falling form, satisfaction riddling his face.

Ikko did a quick about face and ran back to the wall, looking for Suika, their forms shimmering and shifting in the translucent ice as the same winning smile she would by now know so very well crept on his face, happy she too had made it. Before he could speak however, the world seemed to stop. Ikko's eyes hollowed, slowly looking down. There was a hole punched through his right shoulder and a icy chain now threaded through the boy's very body. A crunch echoed as something punched through Ikko's frozen wall. It looked like a harpoon tip positioning right toward Suika's face, the tip holding a midnight, light devouring black as it poked out through the wall with but one blemish on its otherwise pitch black veneer, a scarlet line of blood. Ikko's eyes moved back up to Suika, a mixture of confusion and fear on his once jovial face as he slowly mouthed the word

"Cold..."

Ikko was ripped backward and off his feet, seemingly torn from the world as he was yanked backward into the encompassing darkness of the mysterious cave and quickly vanishing from sight into the nefarious depths. As the snow settled, the wall between Suika and the cave would slowly melt away, sinking into the cliff side and pooling into a large puddle as the brisk voice of the wind was all that could be heard, dreadful silence falling over the clearing...leaving Suika with a choice.

[WC: 2128]

 

[Suika]

Chaos unfolded as the monstrous shape-shifting demon charged toward Suika and Blackberry. Readying her ghostly ninjato, she smoothly parried its clawed attack and then coolly sliced its side. It shrieked again. They then followed with a combative dance, but it was clear Suika had the upper advantage. The demon stood no chance against her swordsmanship and her overt dominance over the battlefield. As she prepared herself to go in for the kill, the beast's reinforcements arrived. Gritting her teeth, she glanced toward her familiar and shot him a nod. He was off! As Blackberry disappeared from view yet again, the mystical gypsy prepared herself for a horde attack. Four wolf-like humanoid creatures dashed toward her as they emitted an aura of bloodlust. In anticipation of the attack, she prepared herself to take on five ghoulish enemies. That was, until, Ikko utilized his ninjutsu prowess to form a giant ice wall. It sprouted from the frigid grounds instantly and, also, within the moment the wolf demon's charged toward her. She was now spared that encounter. “Thanks, Ikko-san.” she muttered under her breath knowing that he couldn't hear her. While she was willing to take on more enemies, she wasn't too sure if she'd be able to pull it off. The boy lightened the load for sure. The kunoichi just hoped, in that brief moment, that Ikko would be able to handle them himself. “He did kill a panther...” she mused.

Her thoughts were then interrupted by another venomous growl. Her former doppleganger spoke with words dipped in pure malevolence. “You think you're safe now, girl? That gave me enough time to restore myself.” As Suika's eyes darted toward the demon, she noticed it changed back into her again. Really? She then rolled those very eyes. She was getting very irritated. “Come on,” she grumbled as she readied her blade yet again, “don't you have anymore new tricks, monster? You're boring me.” The demon then formed an ethereal blade of its own. It smirked devilishly. “You think my imitation is that cheap, mortal? And to answer your question, yes.” It then dashed toward Suika as it violently swung its weapon. The kunoichi then clashed her blade against the demon's sword. They entered the dance of Suika's.

The demon's abilities were now parallel to her own. Every move she made was matched with equal ability and force – it was unreal to her. The creature, itself, wasn't too powerful, but it's ability to emulate the power level of whoever it morphed into was terrifying. It had to have a weakness. “It has to have an opening of some sort,” speculated the girl as she huffed an icy breath. If it hadn't been for this duel, she would have been frozen in her socks by now. As their battle ensued, it wasn't too long until another turn of events unfolded unexpectedly. An avalanche formed on the mountain they fought. Its current held more strength on the other side of the conjured ice wall, but it still affected Suika's terrain. Forming seals, a large ebony dragon formed below her as she swooped away to safety. The demon, on the other hand, wasn't so lucky. It was slammed by heaps of unrelenting snow. Suika grinned. “Serves her... it right.” As the avalanche calmed, Suika, with her guard intact, went to investigate its aftermath. Her doppelganger was no where in sight. As she kept to her senses, she noticed Ikko peering through the other side of the wall with his usual cheesy expression. “He's alright... thank goodness.” She didn't doubt his battle prowess at all, but she was still relieved he made it out okay.

She thought too soon.

Without notice, blood splattered on the translucent ice as a visible chain wrapped through and around Ikko. From her perception, it seemed he mouthed the word 'cold'. The boy was dragged off. With widened eyes, Suika cursed. “Damn it!” Her spiritual aura intensified with a fiery glow as her mind flooded. “Whatever it is that wanted him here, it got him.” A mix of anger and worry swept over her as she replayed the scene in her head. Not even a second later, a hand burst from the icy ground behind her. The gypsy swung around and witnessed the return of her evil doppelganger. It was still alive. Suika shouted. “Blackberry!” Like lightning, Blackberry the cat dove from on top of the iced wall and landed on the demon's face again. Before the demon could react, a blade pierced through its abdomen. It shrieked as the weapon was slowly turned within it. “What do you want with him?” spat Suika as she callously maneuvered the blade within the beast. “Tell me everything you know, or experience your imminent demise.” Her tone was colder than the frigid atmosphere around them. The girl meant business. In response, the demon cackled mockingly. It did this for a few good seconds before replying. “I'll never tell you, witch! My master's will shall finally be complete.” Suika's eyes grew blank along with her expression. She gripped her ninjato with strengthened firmness. “So be it.” She then sliced through the demon and cut it in half. It didn't shriek this time... it just slowly dissipated as dark particles flew into the air. It remained dressed in Suika's form until the very end. The girl found it slightly disturbing, but she had no time to dwell on the mundane. Ikko needed to be saved.

Blackberry hopped besides her and meow'd loudly. Suika nodded her head. “Don't worry, Blackberry, we'll save him.” As a survivalist, it was against her instincts to venture into the dark, unknown cave ahead and rescue her peer. Her old senses screamed at her to turn away. She refused. Suika was now turning over a new leaf, and today's events were a testament to that. She was definitely scared of what was to possibly come, but she wasn't to let that fear dictate her. The girl opted to choose a more selfless path. “I will not lose my soul to save my flesh.” It was a bold move, but she strode forward with a complete confidence in it. As she entered the cave's mouth, chills formed throughout her being as her cat purred silently. Whatever it was that lived here, it was dangerous. She proceeded stealthily and with great caution. An anticipated Suika was ready to take on whatever she had to. “Hang in there, Ikko-san, we're coming for ya.”

 

[Funai Ikko]

Outside of trickled streams of scarlet leading into the cave, Ikko seemed to have completely vanished without a trace. As if he had never existed at all whatsoever. Before her would stand nothing but the dark, empty chasm entrance into the cave, Ikko's blood shimmering off the sunlight outside the only thing blemishing what would otherwise be a completely dark circle cut into the mountain. Once she would step in to it, she would quickly find that the darkness itself seemed to be a mostly artificial construct for the entrance, a genjutsu perhaps? Once inside, Suika would still be able to see the small trail of Ikko's blood painting a clear if somewhat morbid path for her to follow through, but the cavern paths were not without light. Riddled along the the floors were small, aqua blue, tinted lamps that, while not helping make the cavernous paths less creepy, at least did an adequate job of letting Suika and Blackberry see what was happening around them...and things would definitely be happening around them.

As Suika would move through the cave, she would be met with a myriad of traps and pitfalls, soon making sure she knew that she needed to be paying rapt attention with every move she made as arrows would whiz past her head, floors would fall out from beneath her, and a whole host of traps that would stereotypically obstruct her path were thrown at her. Once she got through this veritable universal movie of rolling boulders and collapsing wall traps, Suika would find herself emerging in to the first room she had come across that was not a narrow corridor. It was in this room that the trail of Ikko's blood would have vanished, trailing off and out of sight about five paces in to cavernous room. The first thing to be noticed in the room, outside of the fact that the blue lights continued to expand out in to a ring around the room, dimly illuminating it, was a large colossal statue at the end of the hall. It stood at a rather intimidating twenty feet tall, towering almost to the top of the room and was adorned in what looked like petrified scale mail, as if he were an effigy to an ancient samurai. After Suika would take a few steps in to the room the opening she had come through would suddenly be...less of an opening. With a loud crash, Suika would find her exit completely blocked off by a wall of what looked like black ice, blending in perfectly with the cave wall but giving of a very blatant chill, even compared to the sub-zero temperatures that Suika had dealt with thus far.

Upon turning back around, Suika would notice something at the towering statue's feet. A table was seemingly frozen to the floor, large crystals of ice creeping up around it, and a plaque emblazoned in the ground before it and beyond the tablet, a chalice embedded in to the foot of the statue would be erected. Sitting a top the table were seven vials all containing some strange sort of liquid and each labeled with a strange character, going from left to right labeled as:

Α Β Γ Δ Ε Ζ Η

And below that, an inscription would be found emblazoned on the plaque.

Danger lies before you, awakening the giant's mind,
Two of us could help you, if this is help that you find,
Two among us seven bare the path ahead,
Any other will prove less fruitful instead,
Two before are naught but water here in line,
Three however are killers, choking death's final whine
Choose, unless you wish to stay here for evermore,
To help you in your choice, we give you these clues four:
First, however slyly death tries to hide
You will always find some on water's left side;
Second, different are those who stand at either end,
But if you would continue unimpeded, neither is your friend ;
Third, each and every vial bears a mark in this trying time,
No vial holding imminent death will hold a number prime
Fourth, the second left and the second on the right
Are twins once emptied, though different at first sight.

The ritual was clearly asking for one of the vials to be poured in to the chalice to open the door ahead, but it was still aggravatingly coy about whether or not opening the way ahead would actually benefit the girl. Still, if she hoped to find Ikko, she was out of options but to play along.

[WC: 762]

 

[Suika]

The ghostly girl and her mischievous cat crept into the cave and quietly made their way to it. There was no judging what dangers lurked ahead in this god-forsaken cavern. Both Suika and Blackberry's innate senses screamed at them to turn away; with determined eyes that only peered forward, they both resisted. They knew that they had to save the cheery Haku boy, Ikko. While it was their intent to breeze through this dungeon-esque setting stealthily, it was no surprise they were soon met with a string of dangerous occurrences. The tale of Indiana Suika and her pet sidekick, Blackberry, has now commenced.

They followed the trail of the boy's blood and the blue lanterns that lit their path. It was obvious when something in the atmosphere felt a bit off. Her familiar's loud meow penetrated through the silence in the large, arctic cave as Suika's magenta eyes glowed furiously. Their ears perked as they heard a small rumble. The ground trembled light, then violently, as the the low-sound intensified. With a quickened side glance, the duo realized one thing: they had to run. Behind them was a huge boulder that chased them down the demon's cave. It took lefts and rights – it followed the two every direction they turned. It seemed straight out of some novel... what kind of theatrics was this demon into? While they dashed for their lives, Suika and Blackberry ran into a series of other traps laid out for them. They swung across small, deep pits, avoided flying arrows that burst from the frigid walls, and dodged random spouts of blue flames. The hallway narrowed as the boulder crashed against the wall and came to a loud stop. Suika and Blackberry both panted and huffed. That was a close one.

After they recollected themselves, they both strolled forward and shuddered at the sight of Ikko's disappearing blood trail. What sign did this pose? Suika and Blackberry's sight was then caught by a towering, samurai-like statue above them. As they made their way, a wall of black ice slammed in front of them and blocked their path onward. The gypsy girl's expression slanted as her cat called out with its own frustration. Examining the wall, she knew it to be impenetrable. There had to be another way through. It was then she noticed an assortment of vials in front of the statue's feet. Nearing it, she read the instructions on the plaque and squinted her eyes with conflicted determination. She was never really great at word puzzles or riddles. She found them dull and unnecessarily complicated. Regardless of her feelings, she had to play along. Blackberry, on the other hand, appeared pretty entertained. After a few minutes of weighing her options and reciting the words aloud, she finally made her pick.

“Alright. If they're numbered 1 through 7, any number within that that isn't prime is either poison or no good. Prime numbers are whatcha want. The first and last vial are not your friend, so their useless. The second to the right and left look alike, but are different once emptied. The answer has to be either 3 or 5. It's the best I got.” Reaching for the third vial, she poured its contents into the goblet and awaited a reaction. If nothing happened for a good while, she was to try number 5 instead.

What was to happen next?

 

[Funai Ikko]

Regardless of her methods or how many off screen hints and tips that might have been forwarded her way from wise viziers unseen, Suika had managed to locate the correct vial, or at least one of the correct vials that she fortuitously poured first. As soon as the liquid cascaded down from the vial and touched the chalice basin, a wicked sounding hiss reverberated off the chamber walls, doubling over itself and permeating through the entire room. It would seem for a but a moment as if Suika had stumbled upon one of the wrong vials as a cloud of red vapor slowly began to waft up from the chalice and toward the monstrous statue before her. As soon as the mist touched the icy sheen however, the whole world seemed to shake. Large bits of ice crashed off of the beast, smashing into the ground with an earth shattering crunch as ice fragments spread throughout the room. It looked like the monster was fully thawing out, and for a second it looked like Suika had tripped upon the defense mechanism of the room. The giant's eyes lit up and glared down at her before taking a step forward and raising one of its behemoth hands to her...

And just like that, he fell apart. As if thousands of years of erosion struck it at once, as it was swinging that monster arm the rest of its monster body began crumbling to dust, completely withering away and dispersing in the cool misty air. Behind where the giant once stood, Suika would see the doorway it was guarding now open and inviting her in. Once she collected herself and chose to move on, she would follow a winding corridor that led her deeper in to the mountain before it deposited her in another large chamber like the one she had just come from. This one however was noticeably different. While the previous room still looked like it belonged in a cave, this looked like it belonged in a castle. The castle of someone with a weird animal fetish at the very least. All along either side of the hall were statues of various animals, ten to a side, all seemed to be lovingly crafted out of stone.

As Suika would step in to the room however a light would drop down from the ceiling. This didn't...look quite right to be just a "light" however. As it continued to fall toward the ground, coming close to eye level, Suika would be able to get a better look at the luminescent orb. Encircled by what could only really be described as a dark blue tinged border that separated it from the opaque background, a brilliant azure blue seared just above Suika's head, seemingly studying her curiously. Suddenly, without warning, the light darted backward to the side of the room opposite in which Suika entered before veering off to the left, toward one of the statues before completely fading from view. A few seconds later however, what had happened would become clear. The construct the creature had vanished into, a seven foot long, giant tiger like creature, suddenly whirred to life. The hollow indentations to frame it's "eyes" flushed with color, a familiar azure blue as the creature, as if shaking off centuries of rust and grime build up, shuddered before stepping off its pedestal, cold stone scraping across stone as it moved, and leveling its piercing, glowing eyes upon Suika.

"One already taken. To be no others. Did not see wretched changeling. Dead? Likely. Not flat. Deactivate giant? Likely. Kill the spare."

Its words were metallic and hollow, seemingly devoid of any semblance of emotion and seemed more like it was ratting off lines of code, conditionals to be met. However, as soon as a directive was decided there was nothing passive about the creature. Letting off a roar that shook the room to the very foundation, the creature had reared back it's head before pouncing, soaring across the room in a single bound, arms outstretched, claws extended, and teeth bared. The giant stone cat was going straight for the throat, literally, looking to completely tear Suika's jugular end to end with it's wickedly sharp teeth and claws.

[WC: 705]

 

[Suika]

After slipping vile five into the gauntlet, an intimidatingly loud hissing sound erupted from the chamber as a crimson vapor flew out of the chalice. Suika gulped. Was she wrong with her choice? The mist peered out of the cup and engulfed the icy statue that towered over her. As soon as it thawed its frigid surface, the statue's eyes glowed violently. Was this a trap? She readied herself to counter the stone giant. It wasn't long until the statue collapsed dramatically. Alongside her familiar, Blackberry, the duo took a few hops back to avoid any fallen debris. In place of where the statue stood was a door. Suika and her cat ventured inside.

The girl was able to recollect herself as she spent minutes strolling down the pathway. Her demeanor still held a tense guard. This cavern, more like your classic adventuring dungeon, held many twists, turns, traps, and puzzles. Whoever this demon was, it was pretty elaborate. It obviously did not want to be found easily. As her and Blackberry entered a new room, she caught sight of a shining, blue orb. As it met her at eye level, her feline attempted to paw at it. It evaded and flew away. Suika was a bit curious, but her intuition told her to stay on guard. Not even a sliver of light was innocent in a demon's lair. As the orb flew across the room, it faded into a nearby statue. Its eyes then shone with a similar azure as it stepped out of its pedestal. It was a huge, stone tiger. With a readied stance, her face scrunched as the beast assessed the situation with an almost robotic tone. Was it some type of chakra sensor programmed to eliminate anything that was deemed an intruder? Apparently so. Without much room for thought, the creature lunged out at Suika and Blackberry as it stretched out its claws. As soon as it appeared to hit Suika, she merged with the shadows once again as her feline stealthed himself. Appearing by another statue, she appeared near the shadows of another animal statue to think of her options. “Okay, he thinks I'm an intruder. To my luck, he seemed to have recalled the changeling demon. It wore my face... I wonder how intelligent it is to deception? We'll test it out.” Suika formed quick seals as three shadow spectres burst from her and hid by other statues. She then used a transformation jutsu to shift into the changeling's base form, the hideously masked shadow creature, and presented herself before the statue. She called out to it as she emulated its dual-toned voice. “You fool!” she hissed. She circled the beast. “Master will be upset that you attacked me. I clearly have not died, idiot. Do you think I could be done in so easily?” She snuffed as an act of snarkiness and superiority. The gypsy girl, being a former performer, thought she did well mirroring the slain demon's pompous attitude. While she was confident in her charisma and acting abilities, she prepared herself for an attack. If somehow her words didn't reach him, she'd prepare a counter and substitute herself with her clone. She'd then begin her defensive measure with Blackberry.

Theorizing that the mass of chakra, the blue orb, had the ability to possess inanimate objects, her more immediate goal was destroy all the other threatening statues in the room. The best way to defeat this enemy was to rid itself of all its hosts. Meanwhile, she also had to avoid its vicious attacks. She formed seals and summoned her Ebony Dragon. She utilized it to distract the beast as she, along with her cat, worked to destroy all the statues. Both equipped with exploding notes, they then began tagging all the statues. After all were set, Suika ignited them to explode. If she was successful, she'd face her most immediate threat in front of her. “Time to fade away, orb.” She and Blackberry used coordinated attacks, alongside her shadow creation, to destroy the statue. How would this result?!

 

[Funai Ikko]

Her plan was well thought out, logical, reasonable, and was a perfect tactic for reducing the enemy's possible resources for the coming conflict. Of course, it also didn't work. The creature was not all dissuaded from its offensive, it clearly could tell As soon as she had triggered the tags placed through both her and her familiar's handiwork, explosions would ring out through the whole room, nearly shaking it to its foundations as smoke billowed outward and obstructing the view of the statues. Unfortunately, when that smoke did clear, there would be just as many statues as there had been before, barely even scuffed from the combined explosive tags. However, when that smoke did clear, Suika would notice something else. Her creation did manage to intercept the inbound cat's attack, but when that dust cleared, Suika would find the cat towering over her creation, a large portion of its shadowy flesh ripped clear from it, the cat's glowing blue eyes leveling on Suika. However, they'd notice something else as well, a large check of the stone kitten's shoulder was shredded away, scratches remaining that looked vaguely like the downed creation's claws raking across it. Whatever protection the statues seemed to have when inanimate did not seem to carry over to them in the present form.

Their coordinated attack on the creature would yield more fruit than the attempt made on the inanimate statues however. As soon as both Suika and her familiar moved, what was left of her creation's strength reached up and grasped the cat's legs. The momentary hesitation and surprise was all it took. Suika and Blackberry crashed into the stone monster and punched straight through it. The large feline burst into stone fragments under their combined assault, its monstrous form crumbling and burying Suika's shadowy construct, trading one for the other as the first threat was put in check.

However, Suika and Blackberry were not out of the woods yet. A familiar azure orb hovered above the spot where the cat once stood for a few moments before blurring off again heading for another statue. If Suika or Blackberry attempted to hit it with concussive force, they'd find the attacks completely worthless, seeming to phase straight through the spirit as it bolted toward another statue, this one in the form of an over sized Crane. The winged creature stepped off the dais, its eyes burning a familiar azure and, defying the physics around the concept of flight, took to the air, flapping its massive stone wings and glaring down at the pair of them, poised to the strike once more.

[428]

 

[Suika]

The scene played out like an action flick. With a few explosions here, a battle of two beasts there, and the triumphant assault of a girl and her cat to top it off, the tiger statue was defeated. Naturally, her fight wasn't over just yet. The same blue orb erupted from the pile of stone as it passed by Suika and Blackberry. The duo attempted to strike it, but it phased through their hands. Suika growled. What the heck was that thing made out of? It wasn't long until the azure light took control of a new host. It was now a gravity-defying crane bent on destroying the duo. As it charged violently, Suika was able to evade it again. Her stamina, however, was decreasing by the second.

“We have to come up with a new plan, but what?” Blackberry meow'd. It hit her.

She hopped back and pointed her ethereal blade. From that, she cast a genjutsu to petrify the creature. If somehow it worked, Suika was to take heed of her new strategy. Illusionary control. If her bind hit, she formed a string of illusion that were aimed as mental blasts to the creature. While it was important for her to defend against the statue's hefty blows, that pesky lightbulb creature was the true menace here. She had to eliminate it with what she did best.

If this worked, she'd continue this onslaught until its demise. As the crane neared, she used her kinesis to propel it back. She continued the string of illusionary attacks. “Fade away, light. I have to go save Ikko.”

 

[Funai Ikko]

She was getting closer, but it wasn't quite the right answer, at least not yet. As the bird missed her, its claws raking the stone floor, it took flight once more, sweeping around the room with a flourish of wings as it moved around for another strike. Unfortunately, as Suika leveled her phantasmal blade at the creature, her attempts to repeatedly blast the creature with illusionary energy did not seem to be yielding much in the way of results, the chakra itself seeming to bounce harmlessly off its hide. However, there was a hint of something different in the see of azure that was the creature's eyes, a sort of mingled anxiety that was most definitely not present before. It was fear, the creature feared Genjutsu.

Another bloodcurdling "tseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeer" punched through the air around them as the creature down once again, desperately trying to carve the small girl up as quickly as it could. However, it would seem that fear caused it to go after her with a little bit too much exuberance. As Suika's push of kinetic energy crashed into the creature, it knocked its trajectory off just enough for it to careen off course, crashing into the ground amidst an explosion of stones, spraying cast off dirt and debris all across the floor of the massive room.

In it's wake, the small Azure orb would float up once more, hovering softly in the air infront of Suika for a moment, as if it were glaring at her, before it did a quick, what seemed like at least, turn and it pelted across the room, shooting straight for the opposite side of the room and toward a massive statue of a bear, clearly intending to once more possess it and turn its girth upon Suika and Blackberry, the creature seemingly intent on going through each and every statue until he had successfully brought the pair down.

[WC: 317]

 

[Suika]

Her strategy, although proving maybe somewhat effective, wasn't entirely so. Something about the azure blue light looked affected by her illusionary assault, but it seemed almost protected by its sturdy stone exterior. Suika slanted her face with a mix of frustration and irritation. She had to finish the fight soon, or she'd be in heaps of trouble. She only had so much chakra and stamina. "Besides, every second here wasted is another not helping out Ikko. I have to get to him as soon as possible."

As the kunoichi and her cat defeated the statue, another one stood in its place as a humongous bear aggressively approached the duo. This time, Blackberry himself was getting a bit feisty. The cat leapt toward the bear and attempted to scratch at its glowing eyes. As he did so, Suika focused her energy and utilized her kinetic ninjutsu to fling the bear around. She would do so until it was smashed into bits. After she accomplished this, the light would, once again, emit from the stone onto its next host. Before it could complete its transition, Suika decided to fight that pesky orb head on.

"Time to truly fade away."

She used a genjutsu bind on it. After doing so, she mimic'd her earlier string of genjutsu attacks on the light. She did this constantly and would string in different combos to prevent its movements and destroy it. Was she to be successful? Blackberry watched intently. He, too, was keen on having this duel finally come to a close.

 

[Funai Ikko]

As the bear was tossed around like a rag doll, it was getting rather clear that the strength gap between the bear and Suika was rather insurmountable between the bear and the girl, despite its assorted forms and it was quickly becoming equally clear that its only hope of stopping the girl was hoping she wore herself out before it ran out of bodies to throw at her. As the bear was crashed into the wall for the final time by the girl's mind, it completely broke apart and the Azure blue orb manifested again, hustling toward one more statue before it was stopped dead in mid air. The orb had froze, spasming slightly in the air as Suika systematically ripped it apart, the spirit not having its protection against genjutsu without its shell. The orb did not have a mouth, it could not scream, but a sad sort of silent wail seemed to permeate the very air around them. Each of the remaining statues slowly crumbled around Suika and, at the end of the hall, the stone door blocking the path would crumble as well. As Suika would pass through the doorway, she would be returned to what looked more like the caves she had moved through previously...not to mention the more obvious elephant in the room.

Before Suika and Blackberry would stand a massive crystalline structure made entirely of solid ice. When they moved closer into the room, they would see that at the center of the massive structure was a small frame of deathly white skin with dancing blue hair seeming to freeze in place. The only contrast available to the icy tones was a stark few threads of crimson mingling with the ice, Ikko's blood frozen in time before them. If Suika attempted to attack the icy prison, it would be a completely fruitless venture, completely incapable of putting so much as a dent in to it. Upon further inspection however, Suika would what exactly was keeping the ice suspended. Four pitch black chains, spouting from each side of the room, were arcing up toward the icey structure, winding through the massive crystal and then...punching straight through Ikko. There were four new wounds on the boy's body, in addition to the original chest injury, that were ideally placed to avoid vital organs throughout the boy's body. These chains were frozen, somewhat less sturdily, into the walls all around the crystalline mass. If Suika hoped to rescue Ikko, she was going to have to find a way to free him from his frozen prison.

[WC: 434]

 

[Suika]

By the time she fought the bear, she was already well-rehearsed at demolishing the statues. Its pattern of attack became predictable to her as she anticipated its violent, straightforward movement. After crushing the stone bear statue using her force ability, the blue light tried to transition to its next host. Suika took heed and began her illusionary assault. It wasn't long that until the disturbed orb faded away. A subtle, dismayed wail filled the air - its treachery was no more. As the statues fell to dust, so did the passageway toward her next frigid destination. Taking a quick second to regain her composure, she shot her familiar a nod. "Let's go get him, Blackberry. Be on your guard." The cat meow'd low in response. He, too, was a bit fatigued.

As the pair pressed down their next path, Suika noticed the cold air growing more dense as an aura of malevolence swept through her. She gritted her teeth - she didn't like this feeling. Blackberry mirrored the same as his expression remained piercing while the hairs on his back stood. Whatever had a grasp of Ikko, it was strong. She knew that this wouldn't be easy; however, she still pushed herself forward. Her determination to save the boy was a flame powerful enough to help her endure this arctic condition. As they neared what appeared another cave's mouth, her eyes widened as she caught sight of the large, ice crystal that floated within the middle of the grand room. Her magenta eyes then watered when she peered through the chunk of ice. There was a familiar blue-haired boy within who was frozen in time. He was surrounded by stains of his own blood as four frosted black chains pierced through him and unto the ceiling. Ikko. The girl was rushed with a sense of urgency.

"Blackberry, we need to bring down those chains. Try and see if you can find some type of mechanism or weak point." With what almost appeared a nod, the cat was off like a shadow in the night. Suika focused her attention on the mass before her. Drawing her ethereal, ghoulish blade, she whacked at the shelled ice. It was no good. The way the chains laced through Ikko, she noted, was also problematic. Even if she was able to free him, she didn't want to accidentally damage him or worse. She had to be careful in her approach, yet, time was of the essence. She kept to her senses as she prepared herself for a demonic encounter. She didn't know where the frost demon was currently, but he had to be near. She was ready to fight him off if need be.

Forming a quick seal, the kunoichi performed a low-leveled fire jutsu on the icy chains. It was very subtle as to not draw attention, but she wanted to test it out regardless. She'd experiment different ways of neutralizing the contraption as Blackberry searched for an alternative method. What would follow?

 

[Funai Ikko]

"Cold..."

It was a recurring concept, a perpetual sense. It shot through every vein, it blanketed every nerve, coursed over every fiber of Ikko's being. He still didn't understand, he still didn't comprehend. How would one explain a sensation that has never been felt? How would you describe the color blue to a blind man or a bird's song to a deaf woman? No words could describe it, there is no comparable to draw. Blue simply is, a song simply is. "Calming" or "Beautiful" are worthless words without context. Nothing could have prepared Ikko for the complete and utter dearth of warmth. He couldn't move, barely could even breath and for a time, there was nothing.

Then there was something. It started as almost nothing, as if it were a slight tickle, a soft nudge. Something tugged at Ikko's mind. It wanted something, Ikko wasn't sure what. A memory? A feeling? He couldn't tell, but a soft shiver ran up his neck, as if a finger nail, cold as ice, raked across the nape of his neck. If Ikko could move, his whole body would have shuddered uncomfortably, but nothing seemed to exist outside of that sensation. Ikko was blind, there was no beautiful sight to calm him. Ikko was deaf, there was no beautiful song to soothe him. There was only the cold and the sensation. Then it found something it wanted and like magic, Ikko could see. It wasn't sight like he understood it, not with his eyes. It was like he was seeing an emotion, seeing an abstract concept. It couldn't be described conventionally, dimensions couldn't be stated or contours explained, it simply was. Ikko saw longing...his longing. The longing slowly shifted, the abstract slowly morphing, transitioning to a more concrete form of sight. It still didn't feel right, Ikko remembered what he was watching. He was five, still on the streets. It wasn't like remembering though, it wasn't like recalling your own memory. Ikko was watching it like pictures unfolding, frame by frame playing out before him...as if he were looking at his own memories as if he were someone else watching a picture show. What was going on?

The Ikko before him was small, smaller even, and held a familiar look of determination on his face. He raced through streets around them, ducking and weaving through buildings and people. He had a few with him, flanking him through the streets. It was a crude formation...Ikko the trained shinobi would have been appalled, but for a group of rag tag hungry children, it was somewhat awe inspiring. He felt an iota of pride that he was as rambunctious and determined then as he was as a properly fed ninja...but then that sensation was wiped out, completely snuffed as if depriving oxygen to an open flame. He remembered, no, he was forced to remember, that he was doing this because he was not yet a ninja...he was not yet fed. Ikko and his two partners got to work. His friends, the teasers, had already gotten started. He said friend, but that wasn't really true, they were partners by necessity. If they didn't work together, they starved. They were together as long as they were useful to each other...not friends. A high pitched shriek echoed through the market. The girl had started, screaming and hollering at the top of her lungs as the other, a boy, tried to hold her down, looking as if he was looking to calm her down.

"Where...where's mom! I want mom, I want mom!"

Of course, the girl, like Ikko and the boy, had not seen her mom for quite some time. Like all of Ikko's little gang, she was an orphan. It was a common enough occurrence for the streets of this harbor town. The mortality rate for everyone, regardless of profession, was startlingly high and with the recent conflicts with the Bear Country. Still, this place wasn't quite as rife with refugees as some, so an orphan crying in the street was still met with some measure of sympathy instead of cold indifference. A few heads turned as the girl's wailing picked up speed and momentum. Just enough heads for Ikko to strike. The five year old boy darted out, grabbing three loaves of bread and then sneaking in to the shadows. Once he disappeared, the girl seemed to mysteriously recover from a missing parent and the two them vanished back into the crowd, leaving behind a very confused and soon to be outraged store owner.

Ikko and his friends regrouped at their little hide out and started breaking apart the bread loaves for a couple of the younger children. Ikko sat on a small rampart looking down on his little gang as they picked apart their food. He looked down at his bread and then back over the little fishing town they lived in, looking down at the market square. He noticed something that would have made anyone in their little group envious. A small boy walking along with his parents, holding his mother's hand in his and excitedly pointing at fish and sundries as they walked along the market. It was an inexplicable sensation. They were the same age, at least Ikko thought they were, but they looked so ridiculously different. The kid had no lines in his face, he had no sadness in his eyes, he bounded up and down not a care in the world. Ikko knew why...or at least he thought he did. He knew the difference. The boy had a family, the boy had friends. Ikko looked down at his gang, two of the kids were fighting over a piece of bread until a decisive strike landed and one of them was on the ground, bleeding, and the other was stuffing his face with more bread. No...Ikko didn't have a family, he didn't even really have friends. These kids would turn on each other at the slightest sense of discord, Ikko included. The kid was happy though, he was boisterous, he was excitable, he was rambunctious. Who was to say that was because he had a family? Maybe he got to have a family because he was those things? Ikko could do that right? Ikko could be excitable, Ikko could be happy, Ikko could focus on making people happy and smile. Ikko could do that, that should work. The small boy hopped down off the parapet and picked up the fallen, bloodied child, pushing down his longing, his hunger, and offering him his share. Ikko could find more food on his own later, it'd be fine. He'd start now, he'd start making others happy now. That should work.

"But did it work?"

It wasn't Ikko's voice, but it seemed to come from his vantage point...it was his but not his. Ikko didn't understand how, but he understood the question...he knew the answer...it did not work. Ikko was still alone, still did not have a family. He solved the issue with food, but he was still alone, despite his blustering, despite his pranks...despite everything he was still alone. Hoshi said the village would be his family...but what did that even mean? What was a "family" in that context? How did one begin to contextualize family? What that little boy had still eluded Ikko. Memories of Hoshi were brought to the surface and like the memory of his childhood, it was snuffed out. Then the Monks in the monastery who brought him, fed him, gave him what could be considered a family as they plucked him off the streets...then their dead bodies, the slavers who carted him off flashed across his memory, snuffing that warmth out too. Memory after memory was brought out and then quelled, further separating him from what he wanted, further tearing him from his dream of "family." It was replaced with all encompassing cold, with dread, with emptiness...with the cold.

Then there was a searing pain, like every single cell of Ikko's body was set ablaze. Every nerve, every fiber came alive. Every sense that had been sealed off blazed back to life. Ikko's whole body tried to spasm, to get away from the burning, but he couldn't move. The suffocating cold was still around him, still pressing in on him, but his body tried, his whole form ached and burned. He had feeling back, feeling he couldn't escape. He tried to scream and scream, expecting nothing to come out, expecting the same mute, cold, emptiness that had pervaded him this whole time, but that wasn't what he got. That wasn't it...at all...

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An unearthly scream roared through the room as Suika applied her fire jutsu to the chain and it achieved instant results. The heat, even minorly, seemed to set off a horrible reaction with the whole room. As the flames touched the chain, the whole thing jerked wildly as the fire at into the chain. As it did, a black, frigid mist escaped the "wound" in the chain and dispersed into the air, almost seeming to try to jump back in to the chain itself. If Suika would turn her attention upwards, she'd see Ikko's face in the ice, contorted into an expression of absolute agony as his mouth was torn wide, screaming in both terror and horrible pain. Despite Ikko's pain, Suika's efforts seemed to be meeting with some success. As the black smoke dispersed into the air, a large crack thrashed through the massive crystal, splitting the ice. It was the right way to get him out it seemed, but the pain on Ikko's face was perfectly, painfully clear.

[WC: 1600]

 

[Suika]

Suika shot fort a small fireball on the icy chains. As the flame crackled against the frigid metal, the chain began to shake violently as a darkened mist secreted through Ikko's exit wounds. As an audible crack could be heard, the kunoichi redirected her attention to the giant crystal before her. Her plan was working! As her attention was directed upward, she noticed her peer's extremely pained expression. Suika winced. Her fiery assault on the chains, it seemed, was somehow connected to the boy's senses. Freeing Ikko meant sending him into a world of hurt. She had no choice. “Sorry, Ikko-san...”

“Blackberry, return.” The cat jumped from a random pedestal and back on to her shoulder. Suka reached into her pouch and brought out a bottle of oil. She splashed it on the chains. Creating some distance between herself as the contraption, she fired off an even more powerful fire-based ninjutsu. It was time to set Ikko free. She also readied herself to for the mental backlash of inflicting pain on her friend. Unfortunately, it had to be done.

“Blackberry, keep watch.” she ordered in between her next fire ninjutsu. The cat meow'd compliantly in response. The duo had to prepare themselves for a demonic retaliation.

 

[Funai Ikko]

The pain stopped, but it seemed to only be for a moment. As she doused the chains and oil and stepped back, Ikko was offered a momentary respite. The pain the burning sensation had caused lingered, but it was a tingling pain, as if cold air was wrapping back around him instead of the searing, world igniting pain he'd coped with previously. His respite did not last long enough and being given a chance to, figuratively, catch his breath, only made the coming agony that much worse. The unearthly howl the came from the spire of ice was deafening not just on an audible scale, but it seemed to punch through to the very core, the very heart of the world around them and everything in it. For as long as Ikko lived, he would never be able to do justice to how horrible the pain truly was. As the chains burned and Ikko's agonized warbles continued to echo, more of that ghostly, frigid, black mist seemed to screech out of the chains furiously trying to flail at Suika but proving rather harmless in this state. However, after a minute of agonized screaming and dispersing black mist, three large cracks crunched through the large frozen structure before it gave way entirely, breaking apart and falling to the ground as Ikko's screams died and his limp body fell through the air amidst a hail of frozen debris.

Both Ikko and the remains of his prison hit the ground with a crash, Ikko hitting the floor in a heap and looking rather dead on the ground. If Suika got close enough though, she would find that Ikko was indeed still breathing and alive, but he was horribly cold to the touch...as if she were touching the very glacier she had found Ikko in. She wasn't going to be given much time to truly evaluate the boy however. As soon as she would reach him, the world around her seemed to come alive. The frozen earth around her began to quake and rumble, stones fell from the ceiling and walls around her, crashing into the ice already there. If Suika didn't look up, she'd definitely still hear them. As the stones fell, their spots in the walls were replaced by the least friendly sight imaginable outside of Eishi's face. The familiar elongated black snouts, pointed ears, and fur riddled forms began pouring out of the holes in the wall, and the equally familiar yet simultaneously less amusing looking foot long, wickedly sharp claws blazed in the fire light of Suika's jutsu. Then another, then another, as creature after creature poured out of the openings above them and began to spread like the plague across the ceiling, thousands of eyes all glaring straight at Suika, nearly quadruple in size as the group they foiled outside. If she wanted any hope of getting everyone out alive...she needed to grab Ikko and run, NOW.

If she did the sensible thing, she was very lucky that Ikko was still rather small and consequently rather light. Claws would scrape the stones behind them as she'd carry Ikko's prone form through the cavernous halls. It would go rather smoothly for the most part, most of the traps had been disabled on the way there, however there was one obstacle that managed to reset itself. A massive door barred their way. Suika would remember it, this trap had a pressure plate up a trail to the right and a matching one beyond the door to the left. They had gotten through before by having one person stand on the plate and the other run through and trigger the plate on the other side. However now, the frenzied backs and scrabbling claws were catching up on them now...fate did not look kindly on anything that those creatures caught.

[637]

 

[Suika]

As Suika pressed on with the oiled flames, she witnessed Ikko writhing within his icy prison. Suika winced. She had to continue. His pain meant freedom, so it was necessary to persist. Not before long, loud, audible cracks emitted from the crystal as it began to crumble. Ikko flopped to the floor as he was surrounded by thousands of frosty shards. Suika dashed toward him. “Ikko-san!” she called out as she knelt by the boy's side. Blackberry, her cat, followed suit. With a quick examination of the boy, she noticed him breathing. He was alive! For now, at least. When the kunoichi checked for a pulse, she was taken back by how frigid his body was. His temperature almost matched the arctic conditions within the cavern. Suika shivered. It was crucial to warm the boy with his dropped temperature, but it was even more important to get the heck out of this cave. She lunged him over her shoulder and motioned at Blackberry. It was time to skedaddle.

Suddenly, furry demons erupted from the crevices of the caves. They were similar to the ones she witnessed earlier, but its horde grew exponentially in numbers. Like cockroaches, they sprouted from every which dark corner in the room. Without hesitation, the girl took off as hurriedly as her legs could take her. All three had to get out. Luckily, she had disarmed many traps along the way, but there was one that proved meddlesome in the trio's escape. “Damn it.” she hissed. She had options, but she had less than a second to execute any of them. Any spec of time given to disarming a trap could prove detrimental to them as the masses of demon were on their trail. Surprisingly, the barred door swung open as she neared it. Was this some type of miracle? Suika took the opportunity and sprinted through. The girl glanced to her side to make sure her kitty friend was right besides her.

He wasn't.

“Blackberry!” she yelled, almost choking in her own panic. As she looked back, the once-barred door slammed shut. It was also, in that moment, that she realized what had occurred. There had to be an entity focusing themselves on the pressure plate for the other to go through and hold it open for the other. Her and Blackberry used this method earlier, but it appeared her familiar took it upon himself to push Suika and Ikko through. The kunoichi almost stopped. Through the barricade, she heard a painful cry of a cat. It vanished within a second.

Suika ran forward.

If Ikko woke up any time during this escape, he'd catch a glimpse of what looked like frozen tears running down Suika's eyes. As she carried her friend forward, the girl wept for her best one. The frigid conditions of the cavern didn't allow her to fully expel any waterworks. Just like part of her soul at the moment, it was now frozen. She knew, however, that Blackberry's valiant sacrifice was not to be in vain. That's what motivated her toward that literal light at the end of the tunnel. The exit became clear in her sights.

If all went as planned, she'd erupt from the cave's mouth, speedily form seals, and cast a sturdy chakra barrier at its entrance. She'd then continue to escape down the mountain, if she could. Suika was no fool. Although her body ached, her bones shivered, and her heart was heavy, there was no time to rest. She had to get Ikko back to the village as soon as possible. The ghostly girl, however, still kept to her senses. There was no telling what could possibly happen next.

 

[Funai Ikko]

Ikko's view was staggered, he wasn't sure if he was awake at all as his body was jostled about, rocked back and forth as he was carried out of the cave. He wasn't even sure if he was alive. He assumed he was, he could feel himself being carried and he could feel that he was moving, at least he knew he was moving, but he couldn't actually feel the movement. It was like his arms and legs were there, but they belonged to someone else, as if someone else's arms and legs were glued to his shoulders and hips. It was not a phenomenon that Ikko could really explain if he were fully awake and vibrant, even less so in his current stupor. More things were coming in to focus though. He was being carried by Suika, he could make out her form now, and they were being chased by something, he could hear horde behind him scrabbling behind them. What was it...the last thing he remembered was Suika...then the monster...then there were...so he hadn't killed all of them? He tried to move his arms, nothing, something else was in control there. Was he just too tired? No, he knew what that felt like. This wasn't it. He couldn't think too much on it though as a harsh cry came from Suika.

Blackberry...

That was her cat, that devilishly smart cat. What happened? Where was she? Shouldn't she be by Suika's side. Ikko tried to turn his head, barely getting it to move, to see the path behind them. They made it through some kind of obstacle, he could see the door shutting behind them, then another cry filled the air and seemed to hang there. Ikko had never heard a cat make that noise before, but Ikko didn't really need it explained to him, he knew what had happened. Why was it happening though? Why was Suika here? Why was she saving him? Why did that cat die for him?

Contrary to the norm, as they broke out of the cave and into the cold winter air, the temperature around them actually seemed to raise a solid twenty degrees. Ikko felt sensation creep back in to his limbs, getting out of the cave seemed release or, at least, weaken whatever was holding deadening him to his own body. However, once Ikko got sensation back, the first sensation he felt was how stiflingly cold he was. His whole body felt like it was dipped in ice, every fiber of his being was being frozen, thawed, and then frozen again. Ikko's eyes scrolled to Suika's face and he saw something that filled him with emotions that he honestly was not very familiar with. There were tears streaking down her face, cascading along her cheeks as they crystallized and froze to her skin. Ikko was right...Blackberry...it had made Suika sad and...and it was Ikko's fault. Guilt wracked him and was steadily replaced with fury and hatred. Ikko's eyes flashed a brilliant, bright azure, glowing in stark contrast to his pale and sickly looking face as his arm moved and his hand clamped down on Suika's hands before she could form a seal. No...a barrier wasn't going to sate this anger.

Ikko slunk off her shoulder, freezing vapor leaking out of his eyes as they leveled on the cave entrance. Ikko pushed her hands down and took a few steps ahead, his body still moving as if he were unfamiliar with it but his eyes held an, albeit glowing, look of determination. The sound of the encroaching horde grew louder and louder with each passing second as Ikko came to a stop a few feet ahead of her. As soon as the first snout poked its way out of the cave, Ikko's body wretched, his neck snapped forward and another unearthly scream rocked the entire mountain range as Ikko retaliated. From his mouth came a blinding blue light, a massive course of energy was fired upon the cave entrance and struck the horde head on. Frantic terrified yelps rang out as the monsters crashed in to Ikko's projection of pure, cursed chakra and were mowed down. Ikko kept up the beam for as long as he could and each slaughtered demon brought him one iota of peace. He didn't really know what he was doing, he was acting on instinct alone, or at least someone's instinct. As he felt his reserves of energy dwindling, Ikko neck snapped up and the beam hit the mountain face itself, punching straight through the rock and the mountain. The energy finally stopped and Ikko collapsed in the snow as the cave itself collapsed. Its supporting mountainside gone, the entranced caved in on itself. Any of the creatures that were left were crushed under tons upon tons of rock and frenzied painful yelps continued as they were crushed by their own fortress. Ikko had even less energy now than he had enjoyed mere minutes ago when he couldn't move at all. Simply thinking about moving caused him pain and he quickly gave upon on trying to get back to his feet. The pain and fatigue were the least of his concerns.

"Suika...I'm cold...I'm so cold..."

[868]

 

[Suika]

As Suika emerged with Ikko out of the demonic cavern, she prepared herself to form a protective barrier with the remnants of chakra she had left. Just as she formed a seal, and to her surprise, Ikko moved from the security of her shoulder and approached the cave's mouth. His glowing eyes released a frosty vapor as his expression looked nothing short of rage. With a piercing scream that sent her chills deeper than the mountain's frigidity, what followed truly took her by surprise. In fact, the kunoichi instinctively created space between her and Ikko as she hopped backward and held her ground. Suddenly, the boy released a giant ray of blue energy into the cavern. The violent ray instantly incinerated every dark creature it hit. The girl's eyes widened as she trembled for the first time today.

Ikko's attack, no, his aura felt ungodly. The sheer force from his powered blast would be frightening enough to anyone, but what moved her most was the alignment of his enraged assault. Where did this power originate? How did it manifest? Suika began to connect the dots. There was no way to tell for sure, but it wasn't coincidence that the arch-demon, or entity, never made its appearance when she found the blue-haired boy. Was it possible...?

Suika didn't finish her thought. As soon as the devil's nest caved in from Ikko's spontaneous blast, he collapsed onto the harsh, snowy floor. The kunoichi rushed to his side and placed her small hands on the boy. His skin, without exaggeration, was as cold as ice. “Ikko-kun!” she cried out in concern. Immediately, Suika removed the only piece of attire that kept her warm, her jacket, and placed it over the young Haku. She also leaned her petite body onto his to add in further warmth.

“It's okay, Ikko-kun, I'm here with you.” she soothed as she continued to press on to him. Suika experienced more emotions in this moment than she ever had in the entirety of her young life. Adrenaline, grief, concern, and exhaustion – those were only of the few that swept her. Yet, she had no time to dwell on them nor express them. What was most important to her, at this moment, was Ikko's health and well-being. Unfortunately, her efforts to provide heat for the boy proved in vain - she was hugging a glacier. What would regulate him?

An idea hit her. It was probably uncalled for, but it was worth a shot. There was nothing really left to lose at this point.

With the palm of her hand pressed behind his head, Suika stared intently into the boy's burdened eyes. His soul appeared sorrowful. Clenching the back of his neck with more firmness, Suika softly muttered his name again as her frozen tear fell onto his cheek. “Ikko-kun...” It was then that Suika descended her head toward his and planted the boy a warm, gentle kiss on the lips. Although the intent of the kiss was to elevate the boy's temperature, the young kunoichi blushed throughout. After the lingering smooch, Suika lifted herself and attempted to aid Ikko up. If he couldn't stand, she'd carry him onto her shoulders yet again.

“Let's get going, Ikko-kun.” Strangely enough, Suika herself felt warmer as a result. It was an odd occurrence for a girl to have her first kiss on, but it was for Ikko's sake, right? Mhm.

[Marked for Kiss/Pin if Ikko approves!]